Some at Utah Lake are wondering where all the signs are after taking their kids swimming at the newly revamped American Fork Boat Harbor — not knowing the lake is facing a serious algal bloom. (Photo: KUTV)
AMERICAN FORK, Utah (KUTV) — Some at Utah Lake are wondering where all the signs are after taking their kids swimming at the newly revamped American Fork Boat Harbor — not knowing the lake is facing a serious algal bloom.
Experts say the algae growing there can produce toxins that can harm the liver, kidneys, or nervous system.
The water in the marina was a shocking shade of green on Wednesday, and that's a tell-tale sign of the harmful cyanobacteria. While there is a sign when you drive into the newly remodeled American Fork Boat Harbor, people who swam here today are wondering why more of an alarm wasn't raised about the situation.
"Did you know that there was an algal bloom happening at the lake?" 2News Reporter Natalie Wadas asked Sandy resident Sara Mathews. "I did not. I've never heard of that before," Mathews said.
The newly installed beach — part of a multi-million-dollar revamp of the boat harbor earlier this summer — was surprisingly empty Wednesday afternoon.
"We were definitely confused why we were the only ones here today," Mathews said.
It may be due in part to the news of a large algal bloom affecting these waters.
"Unfortunately, the last week or so we've seen a more lake-wide bloom in Utah Lake. It kind of started in the southern end earlier this summer, but it's extended through the entire lake," said Ellen Bailey with the Utah Division of Water Quality.
Experts say the warm temperatures and stagnant waters were the recipe for the stinky green growth.
"It's been I think a few years since we've seen it be this level," Bailey said.
Not only is it an aesthetic eyesore, it can also be toxic to the liver, kidneys, and nervous systems if humans ingest it — like, swallowing the water while swimming.
"Dogs and kids are most sensitive, potentially, to these toxins because they're smaller or might be more prone to ingest some of the water," Bailey said.
Kelly Esparza, a resident of Mantua, knows this all to well.
A few years ago, she lost her puppy Daisy to the toxic blooms in Mantua Reservoir.
"She loved the water and I had her play in the water and I had no idea that it was harmful," Esparza said. "It was within about a week of taking her there to play in the water — we were actually out of town and she passed away suddenly."
Kelly's advice: "I would say definitely do not take your dogs there, and I wouldn't even swim in it. I'm guessing if it can kill animals, it can probably make people very sick, and even though we're not in there drinking water like the dogs would, I just wouldn't risk it."
People on the beach on Wednesday were angry they weren't given more notification of the state of the lake, after they say it was advertised as a safe spot to swim.
"We had little kids here that have been swimming in the water for the last hour and a half so hopefully they don't get sick from that," Mathews said. "It definitely would have been nice to have a sign or something notifying us that there was a problem, so we didn't bring our kids here to go swimming."
While they did post a notice to their city's Facebook page, 2News reached out to American Fork asking why there wasn't more signage on the beach where people could readily see it, and if they were planning on putting up more signage.
We are waiting to hear back.